William Rowe’s Bayesian argument from evil against the existence of God. An attempt at analysis and assessment

Main Article Content

Krzysztof Hubaczek

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the Bayesian formulation of the argument from evil for atheism against the background of the contemporary debate on Rowe’s initial inductive formulation of the argument. At the beginning I present the key premises and basics of the Bayesian formulation (esp. Bayes’s theorem, the notion of epistemic probability, etc.), then I discuss the most important challenges to Rowe’s weak and strong claims. The main problem with the Bayesian formulation of the argument is that it does not accomplish what it was intended for: it fails to avoid the confrontation with skeptical theism. The latter has to be refuted in order to save Rowe’s argument (no matter which formulation we take into account, the inductive or the Bayesian). It seems that the debate on Rowe’s evidential argument from evil has reached a deadlock – more and more analytic philosophers of religion claim we should return to the logical formulation of the problem of evil.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Hubaczek, Krzysztof. 2007. “William Rowe’s Bayesian Argument from Evil Against the Existence of God. An Attempt at Analysis and Assessment”. Diametros, no. 14 (December):32-52. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.14.2007.287.
Section
Articles
Author Biography

Krzysztof Hubaczek

Krzysztof Hubaczek – absolwent filozofii i socjologii. Obecnie przygotowuje rozprawę doktorską na temat problemu zła w analitycznej filozofii religii (promotor: dr hab., prof. US Ireneusz Ziemiński). Prowadzi zajęcia na Uniwersytecie Szczecińskim. Publikował m.in. w Analizie i Egzystencji, Diametrosie, oraz Rocznikach Filozoficznych.
Share |

References

Adams [2000] – M. McCord Adams, Horrendous Evils and the Goodness of God, Cornell University Press, Ithaca 2000.

Alston [1996a] – W. Alston, Some (Temporarily) Final Thoughts on Evidential Arguments from Evil, w: The Evidential Argument from of Evil, red. D. Howard-Snyder, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996, s. 311-332.

Alston [1996b] – W. Alston, The Inductive Argument from Evil and the Human Cognitive Condition, w: The Evidential Argument from of Evil, red. D. Howard-Snyder, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996, s. 97-125

Bergmann [2001] – M. Bergmann, Skeptical Theism and Rowe’s New Evidential Argument from Evil, „Noûs” (35) 2001, s. 278–296.

Bogen [1999] – J. Bogen, Bayesa teoria potwierdzania, w: Encyklopedia filozofii, t. 1, red. T. Honderich, tłum. J. Łoziński, Zysk i s-ka, Warszawa 1999, s. 62.

Chalmers [2002] – D. Chalmers, Does Conceivability Entail Possibility?, w: Conceivability and Possibility, red. T. Gendler, J. Hawthorne, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2002, s. 145-200.

Draper [1989] – P. Draper, Pain and Pleasure: An Evidential Problem for Theists, „Noûs” (23) 1989, s. 331- 350.

Grobler [1999] – A. Grobler, Metodologia nauk, Aureus i Znak, Kraków 1999.

Hick [1977] – J. Hick, Evil and the God of Love, MacMillan Press, London 1977.

Howard-Snyder [1996] – D. Howard-Snyder, Introduction: The Evidential Argument from Evil, w: The Evidential Argument from Evil, red. D. Howard-Snyder, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996, s. xi-xx.

Inwagen [1995] – P. van Inwagen, The Problem of Evil, the Problem of Air, and the Problem of Silence, w: P. van Inwagen, God, Knowledge & Mystery. Essays in Philosophical Theology, Cornel University Press, Ithaca 1995, s. 66-95.

Inwagen [1996] – P. van Inwagen, Reflections on the Chapters by Draper, Russell, and Gale, w: The Evidential Argument from Evil, red. D. Howard-Snyder, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996, s. 219-243.

Inwagen [2006] – P. van Inwagen, The Problem of Evil, Clarendon Press, Oxford 2006.

Joyce [2003] – J. Joyce, Bayes’ Theorem, w: „The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy”, Winter 2003 Edition, red. E.N. Zalta,<http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bayes-theorem/>

Mackie [1997] – J.L. Mackie, Zło a wszechmoc, tłum. T. Baszniak, w: Filozofia religii, red. B. Chwedeńczuk, Spacja, Warszawa 1997, s. 217-232.

Pike [1990] – N. Pike, Hume on Evil, w: The Problem of Evil, red. M. McCord Adams i R. Adams, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1990, s. 38-52.

Plantinga [1995] – A. Plantinga, Bóg, wolność i zło, tłum. K. Gurba, Znak, Kraków 1995.

Plantinga [1998] – A. Plantinga, Degenerate Evidence and Rowe’s New Evidential Argument from Evil, „Noûs” (32) 1998, s. 531-544.

Putnam [1998] – H. Putnam, Znaczenie wyrazu „znaczenie”, w: Wiele twarzy realizmu i inne eseje, tłum. A. Grobler, PWN, Warszawa 1998, s. 93-184.

Rowe [1990a] – W. Rowe, The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism, w: The Problem of Evil, red. M. McCord Adams i R. Adams, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1990, s. 126-137.

Rowe [1990b] – W. Rowe, Evil and the theistic hypothesis: a response to Wykstra, w: The Problem of Evil, red. M. McCord Adams i R. Adams, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1990, s. 161-167.

Rowe [1996] – W. Rowe, The Evidential Argument from Evil: A Second Look, w: The Evidential Argument from Evil, red. D. Howard-Snyder, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996, s. 262-285.

Rowe [1998] – W. Rowe, Reply to Plantinga, „Noûs” (32) 1998, s. 545–552.

Rowe [2006] – W. Rowe, Friendly Atheism, Skeptical Theism, and the Problem of Evil, „International Journal for Philosophy of Religion” (59) 2006, s. 79-92.

Russell [1996] – B. Russell, Defenseless, w: The Evidential Argument from Evil, red. D. Howard-Snyder, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996, s. 193-205.

Schellenberg [1993] – J. Schellenberg, Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason, Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1993.

Swinburne [1998] – R. Swinburne, Providence and the Problem of Evil, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1998.

Swinburne [1999] – R. Swinburne, Czy istnieje Bóg?, tłum. I. Ziemiński, W drodze, Poznań 1999.

Wilks [2004] – I. Wilks, The structure of contemporary debate on the problem of evil, „Religious Studies” (40) 2004, s. 307-321.

Wykstra [1990] – S. Wykstra, The Humean Obstacle to Evidential Arguments from Suffering: On Avoiding the Evils of ‘Appearance’, w: The Problem of Evil, red. M. McCord Adams i R. Adams, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1990, s. 138-160.

Wykstra [1996] – S. Wykstra, Rowe’s Noseeum Arguments from Evil, w: The Evidential Argument from Evil, red. D. Howard-Snyder, Indiana University Press, Bloomington 1996, s. 126-150.

Yablo [1999] – S. Yablo, Is Conceivability a Guide to Possibility?, „Philosophy and Phenomenological Research” (53) 1999, s. 1-42.

Yandell [1974] – K. Yandell, The Greater Good Defense, „Sophia” (13) 1974, s. 1-16.

Yandell [1985] – K. Yandell, The Problem of Evil and the Content of Morality, „International Journal for Philosophy of Religion” (17) 1985, s. 139-165.